Trials and Restoration
by SeteshSuperbia6266
Summary: People make mistakes, often with consequences, but are some mistakes too great to deserve redemption? Two souls, reeling from great mistakes will meet, and attempt to find their redemption and who they really are.
1. Chapter 1

Trials and Restoration

A Soujiro/Misao Fanfic

Chapter 1: Chance Encounter

_Disclaimer: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin or any of its characters. If I did, Soujiro would not have disappeared, he'd have gone back to Tokyo with Kenshin and the others. Or at least have had a side piece in the final arc where he met up with them and helped them out with Enishi, and kicked some major ass. _

Misao wandered aimlessly through the forest. It had been a month at least since she had left Kyoto, since that night……..

She walked on, ignoring the grumbling of her stomach, even though she hadn't eaten in days. _Baka! You should have killed that rabbit, but noooooo, it was sooooooo cute that you couldn't bring yourself to do it! Now look what you get for it!_ She kept up the mental tirade for several minutes, before realizing that she was not alone in the forest.

Just up ahead, she saw a person sitting against the base of a tree. She approached warily. It was a young man sitting under the tree. He was asleep at the moment, and looked so peaceful she was loath to disturb him. He wore a tattered gi that looked like it had once been blue, but had faded to gray, and a matching formerly blue hakama. On his shoulder, he balanced a sword with a white hilt and matching sheath. She recognized the sword from the description she had been given of it by a rooster-headed friend of hers. "The _Kikuichimonji Norimune!_ Then this must be that guy he told me about- Shishio's right hand man- the one who broke Himura's sakabatou, Tenken no Soujiro." She stared in wide-eyed horror at the person before her, a famed assassin almost as feared by those who knew of him as Battousai the Manslayer.

She started to back up, intending to slowly sneak away. She turned around, and slowly stepped away. She had gotten about three feet when she stepped on a twig. The loud snap made her flinch. She looked back, but he was in the same position. She continued to sneak away, glad that he was such a heavy sleeper, '_Which is kind of strange. I thought he'd wake up instantly at my presence, let alone the twig snapping_.' she thought to herself. Just then she heard a metallic click, and felt something cold against her neck. "I could kill you right now if I wanted to, you know." Her eyes widened.

** EXTREMELY short, I know, but that's because I wanted to leave it with some suspense. Besides, it's my first Fanfic, and I'm used to writing my books so the transition is a little weird for me atm. Don't worry though, the next chapter will be longer and better, and updated very soon, I promise, or else my sister may kill me….no really, she hates when I'm late lol.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Heaven meets Earth

Chapter 2: Heaven meets Earth

_Disclaimer: Still don't own RK, ain't gonna happen now or ever, either lol. _

_So...here's the second chapter I promised lol. It's gonna get a little slower for a bit, bc I have to move into my dorm after next week and get settled back in at school, but once that's done I'll update as often as I can. Until then, I hope you enjoy this, please R&R._

"I could kill you right now if I wanted to, you know."

Those words brought a cold sweat to Misao's forehead. She didn't flinch, for fear that the sword would slit her throat.

"Don't worry. I won't. I don't kill innocent people, especially girls. That wasn't the truth I was shown." The sword was lowered, but she didn't move. It could have been a trick, and all she had to do was turn, and those cold eyes would lock onto hers and she would be dead before she knew it. She knew how fast and skilled he was. She would never forget the sight of the scar he had placed on Himura's back.

She heard the click of the sword being sheathed. She turned swiftly, not trusting him not to use battojutsu against her. She closed her eyes as she faced him, not wanting to see death in them.

'_Why are you flinching? Lord Aoshi and the others didn't flinch when they.. when they…'_

She shook her head, clearing her mind of the thoughts she had been about to remember. She looked at the Tenken defiantly, ready for death. "What are you waiting for, Tenken? Kill me like I know you will. That's what you do isn't it? Kill anyone weaker than you?"

She couldn't take it anymore, and looked at the ground, waiting for that instant when her life would end. What seemed like hours passed. "What are you waiting for? Is this some kind of sick game? Do you _like_ to make your victims squirm? Just get it over with, I don't feel like being your plaything you know, so why don't you-" she stopped.

He just stood there, his sword sheathed, his hands open at his side. He had the most confused look on his face, as if he had no clue what to do. He sat down, and just sat there, like a child who had to be told what to do. It was strange to look at him, a feared killer, who now sat before her looking like a lost child. Maybe if she got her kunai out, she could catch him unaware and get away safely. _Baka! Baka baka baka! You lost the last of your kunai when you spared that cute little bunny rabbit! Now look, you have none, and here's one of the deadliest men in all of Japan sitting in front of you, ready to attack for all you know! _She continued the mental tirade for several minutes, before returning to her problem of the Tenken.

"Are you okay? You seem confused?" she ventured the question, hoping that she wouldn't snap him out of his stupor, and bring him back into his stated threat of death.

He looked up, as if just realizing she was there. "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, I just knew somebody was looking at me, and I wanted to defend myself. I really must apologize for my poor manners and rough handling of you."

Misao stared, speechless. The Tenken, the manslayer who had nearly killed Himura was APOLOGIZING! To _HER!_ This was more than she could handle. She sat down, the world suddenly spinning.

They sat there, both confused, for several minutes. Finally, he rose up, patting the dust off of his hakama. "Well, it was nice sitting here with you, miss…" "Misao. Makimachi Misao."

"Miss Misao. It was certainly different meeting you. Well, I'm afraid I must be on my way. I am heading to Tokyo. I have to meet with Mr. Himura. It is a long overdue visit I'm afraid, and is very important to me."

Misao recoiled, shock and fear in her eyes. It had been four years since the day Himura defeated Makoto Shishio, the madman who had schemed to take over the country and rule it with his narrow-minded philosophy of the strong living and the weak dying. _"Oh, no… Is he going after Himura to take revenge for Shishio's death? I have to stop him, or get ahead of him and warn Himura and Kaoru. _

She knew what she had to do, but how was she to do it? She hadn't written to them since _that night_, over a month ago, when they had announced their engagement. She had planned to write them back, telling them that the Oniwabanshu would be there for the day, but now… _now they never would. How could she tell them what happened? How could they ever forgive her for what had happened that night?_ She shook her head, bringing herself out of the past and into the present.

Soujiro stood rooted to the spot, staring at this strange girl before him. She was dirty and ragged, but there was something familiar about her. _"Where have I seen her before?" _ He racked his brain, but came up with nothing, until he realized that she had reacted to the name Himura.

_Shingetsu village. The duel with Senkaku. There was a girl with Himura. She had hidden behind the door most of the time. She had come into the open during the battle where he broke the sakabatou. THIS WAS THE GIRL!_

"I remember you now. You were that girl with Mr. Himura back in Shingetsu. I wondered what happened to you after that, but Master Shishio told me not to worry about it, since you were weak. But, I later found out that you were part of the Oniwabanshu who defeated us at the Aoiya. In fact, I heard you beat Kamatari, so, you must NOT be weak after all, but very strong in your own right. Everything seems so strange now… people who seemed weak aren't, and people who seemed strong were weak…" He continued to mumble to himself about things she couldn't understand as she sat, watching.

_There has to be a way out of this, there just has to be!_ Misao was going insane, her mind trying to find a way to get word to Himura in time to warn him that the Tenken was coming for him, but all of them were shot down by one simple thing- she first had to get away from the Tenken, who was _faster_ than Himura was! She looked around, hoping for an escape route to magically appear for her. She hung her head as she saw none. Her stomach chose that time to growl, causing her to smile sheepishly. The Tenken turned his head sideways, staring at her quizzically. "Is something the matter?" he asked. From anyone else, she would have simply dismissed the question as being a polite inquiry, but in front of the Tenken, who would view it as yet another weakness; it could have spelled death for her instead.

"I-it's nothing," she stammered. He continued to stare at her, certain that there was more to it than what she said, but he could never be sure with people, Master Shishio was usually the one who dealt with people for that kind of stuff, he was just the weapon used to strike down the weak people who tried to stand in Master Shishio's way. He pushed it aside, resolving to talk to her about it later, when she was more comfortable than she obviously was now.

Misao watched him, certain he was thinking of something, most likely the quickest and easiest way to kill her and dispose of the body. She started to turn and make her escape while he was distracted, when her body suddenly seized up. Her vision began to blur and darken.

Soujiro watched Misao as she suddenly collapsed to the ground. _'Oh no!' _he thought, _'she's dead! What do I do? I promised Mr. Himura I wouldn't kill innocents anymore, and if she dies here and I'm nearby they could think I did it and go to him, and he'll think I didn't learn anything and I'll have to go into hiding even worse than I already am, because I'll have him after me as well as the police! What do I do!?" _He stared at her for several moments, before he noticed her chest rising and falling. Relieved that the girl wasn't dead at least yet, he decided to take her to the next town, several miles away. He picked her up, holding her bridal-style, and with a tap of his zori, they blurred out of existence, the only trace of them being deep indents in the ground that rapidly disappeared from sight.

Misao's eyes fluttered open. Her head spun for several moments, her thoughts too scattered to even think of being called coherent. '_Trees…forest…bunny…hungry…blue…' _She started to sit up, only to fall back down as a lancing pain ran through her head. The turned to the side, wincing at the pain even that simple movement called, to look to her left as the door slid open. An old man stood there, his wrinkled face crinkling into a smile. "Seta-san, she is awake," he called behind him. She heard the sound of feet padding across the floor, and the door opened wider to reveal the Tenken. Even without his sword at his side, he was intimidating to her, since she knew what he was capable of. _The old man had no clue of the danger he was in!_ She knew what she had to do: she had to warn him, before it was too late.

She opened her mouth to warn him, but only a dry croak came out. She grabbed her throat, half in pain, half in shock, her eyes wide. "Please, Miss Misa, don't try to speak." The old man had a gentle, grandfatherly voice that suited his appearance perfectly. "Seta-san, please fetch her some water." The Tenken nodded, walking back the way he came. As soon as his footsteps faded, she tried to communicate to the old man again. Once again, that damnable croak sounded instead of her warning. "Miss Misao, please, I ask you once again, do not try to speak. You have been asleep for two days from exhaustion and hunger, and your throat is very dry and sore. Seta-san was fortunately nearby when you collapsed, or you may have died where you were. He is quite a remarkable young man." Misao's eyes widened at the man's praise of the killer.

The old man chuckled. "Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Itori Hihachi. I'm a doctor, and a friend of Seta-san's. Judging by your reaction, you know of his past as the Tenken, the right hand of Shishio Makoto. Yes, I know of it as well. Two years ago, I was coming home from visiting my grandson Iori when I found a young man collapsed on the side of the road. He was obviously strong, but he seemed to have fallen upon hard times as of late. I took him here, to my home, knowing that he would soon die of dehydration and starvation. It took me a week, but I was able to nurse him back to full health. I knew he was a dangerous individual, just from the sword at his side, but as a doctor I cannot turn down someone who is ill or injured. When he first woke, he was very quiet and polite, only speaking to me when I engaged him in conversation, otherwise he was very silent. About three days after he woke, a group of yakuza came to my door, demanding I pay them protection money. Seta-san heard the commotion and came to the front of the house, and asked the bandits what they were doing disturbing my home. I will never forget what happened next."

**:Flashback: **

"_Pardon me," the young man said, never losing the cheery smile on his face, "but what are you doing disturbing this kind man's home? None of you are injured, or sick." The yakuza leader, a man with spiky hair and one eye, glared at him. "We're here on a mission of…goodwill. We're trying to explain to this man how it would be most beneficial for him to procure our services." The young man looked from the yakuza to the old man. "I have been with him for several days now, and I see no reason for him to need any help. Would you please consider leaving him alone? I would rather not have to fight if it can be avoided." The yakuza leader looked the smiling boy, then at his men, and laughed. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! You're a funny one, boy! Now, move aside, and WE won't hurt YOU." The young man, even though threatened, didn't lose his smile for a moment. "I'm afraid you are quite mistaken. You won't be able to touch me, let alone hurt me." _

_The yakuza all laughed at this. "You may be holding your daddy's sword, but we're real men, we can actually swing our swords. Now, run along and play before things get ugly." Itori looked at the young man. "Please, don't start trouble with them, I'll just pay them and then they will go away." The smiling young man shook his head. "I'm sorry, but you won't be doing that. A very wise man I met told me that the strong protect the weak, and these men are stronger than you, but I am stronger than them." He turned to the yakuza, his body dropping into a crouch, his left leg forward, right leg held back, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "I am sorry, but I asked you to leave kindly so that there would be no bloodshed, and you didn't listen. You leave me no choice." He added, almost too softly for Itori to hear, "Forgive me, Himura-san." Itori blinked, and the young man was gone. _

_The first inkling anyone had of what had happened was when one of the men fell to the ground, barely making the beginnings of a scream. Before the rest of the men could react, four more had fallen, with no visible cause. There was a scream of terror, and two more fell, leaving only the leader, who stood, looking at his fallen comrades, lying in pools of blood. He sheathed the sword and spoke softly. "I'm sorry about your friends, but I did try to warn you and resolve this peacefully. If you promise to leave now and never return, I shall let you go right now, unchallenged and unharmed." The boy was standing behind him, sword still drawn, yet not a drop of blood present on the blade, and the cheery smile still present, as if he hadn't just wiped out eight men in less than half a minute. He calmly stood, sheathing his sword as he waited for the man's response. "Let me live?! I'LL GUT YOU WHERE YOU STAND YOU BRAT!!" The man, his one eye bloodshot with rage, raised his sword to strike the boy down. The boy's hakama fluttered for a moment, the only sign of movement at first, before Itori noticed that his sword was once again drawn, once again void of blood. The yakuza leader had time for one word before he fell, cut completely in half at the waist. "Who...?" _

_The boy sheathed his sword, looking up at Itori, smiling the entire time. He placed his hand behind his head, ruffling his hair as he laughed nervously. "I guess I have some explaining to do…" _

**:End Flashback: **

"After that, he told me of his past as the right hand of the fearsome warrior Shishio Makoto, when he was known as Tenken no Soujiro, and of his encounter with the man known as Himura the Battousai. He explained his subsequent journey, and the lessons he had learned since then. He's become quite the changed man, you know." They both heard footsteps approaching.

Misao turned to see the Tenken walking towards them, a bucket of water and a cup carefully balanced in his hands, the ever-present grin still plastered on his face. As he set the bucket down and dipped the cup into it, handing it to her to drink, one thought entered Misao's mind: '_Tenken no Soujiro…a good, helpful person?'_

**A/N: There we go! 'Nother chapter out . I know most fics have Soujiro usually just being a good guy all the way by now, swearing never to kill, and getting a sakabatou, but I really couldn't imagine him just becoming a Kenshin mini-me, so instead, he only kills as a last resort, making him something of a cross between Kenshin, who prefers to talk it over and avoid a fight, and Saito, who kills criminals in the name of Aku Soku Zan.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Misconceptions and Truths

Chapter 3: Misconceptions and Truths

_Disclaimer: Still don't own RK or any of its chars, but I DO own my own OC's. It's a small comfort, very small, but it's there…_

**A/N: My apologies for the late update, I moved in last Monday and had to get settled in, and then I had another story I had to work on first, this one's a private one that I email to friends, you'd have to ask me if you want in lol, though any of you who've read my sister's fanfic, The Taste of Chaos, have seen the titles of two of my stories at least . Anyway, now that my (mostly) nonexistent roommate is here, I'm done with this chapter. Plz R&R!**

Misao sat in the room, thinking over what Itori had said. The Tenken…protecting someone he said was weak? It makes no sense! After having heard the old man's story, she had thought about it several times, trying to come to a conclusion. Before she could make any conclusions, though, she succumbed to exhaustion and passed out. As she slept, dreams of blue-eyed, smiling killers seeking revenge clashed with ones of the same blue-eyed boy defending an innocent old man.

She woke suddenly three days later, not that she knew it. All she could think of at first were her dreams, the vivid ones she could still almost feel as if she were still in them. She smelled something on the air, and turned, to find a steaming bowl of miso soup resting on the ground next to her, along with a cup of green tea. She sat up slowly, suddenly, painfully aware of a raging thirst, her throat as dry and sore as if it had been scorched by a fire. She quickly picked up the tea, taking a long sip. Instantly, she felt its warmth filling her, refreshing her with its soothing flavor. Another sip, slower this time, drove away the last vestiges of fatigue from her body. Placing the cup down gently, she picked up the bowl and began to eat the soup.

Before she knew it, the bowl was empty. "I must have been hungrier than I thought…" she said, staring wistfully at the empty bowl before her. "Would you like some more? I can get you some if you would," a light, cheerful voice said. She jumped slightly from fright, whirling around to face where she had heard the voice. 'Baka! You didn't even _think_ to look around the room before you started stuffing your face like some little kid! What if it had been a trap? You would have fallen right into it, and never known it was coming!' she yelled at herself. Sitting propped against the wall was none other than the Tenken himself, grinning cheerily at her. "You know, it's considered rude to spy on a sleeping person, especially a defenseless young girl like me!" she yelled. Soujiro held up his hands in a pacifying gesture. "Gomen, but Hihachi-sama had to step out for a while. He asked me to watch over you. He also said that if you were to wake up, I was to get you as much soup and tea as you want. Besides, you are okashira of the Oniwabanshu, aren't you? And, you defeated Kamatari, one of the Juppongatana. That mean's you're the strongest of the Oniwabanshu, and definitely strong, if you could defeat a member of the Juppongatana. So you weren't defenseless. Your ninja training would have reacted if I _had_ been trying to something, which I wasn't. But even then, I suppose you wouldn't have been a match for me. I am much faster than you after all…" His voice trailed off, lost in his own train of thought, while Misao glared at him, a vein in her forehead twitching.

After several minutes of being ignored by the suddenly thoughtful (who would have thought it, considering his normally airheaded nature) Tenken, and her stomach demanding food, she finally exploded. "TENKEN NO BAKA!!" she yelled, launching the bowl through the air at him without thinking.

To say she was shocked would be an understatement. In the time it took her to blink, after realizing what she had just done, the smiling boy had vanished, along with the bowl. "That wasn't very polite, Miss Misao," he said. She whirled to find him placing the suddenly-full bowl on the ground. "You should let it cool off before you eat it." he said, his cheerful tone never leaving, like his smile. It was then that his words came back to her: _"Besides, you are okashira of the Oniwabanshu, aren't you?"_ How did he know that? "You sure seem to know a lot about the Oniwabanshu," she said. He nodded. "Shishio-sama and I both held your group in the highest regard when we were enemies. And, his spies were as good at gathering information as your group was."

Misao stared at him, eyes wide. It was easily the longest thing she had ever heard him say, and the most serious by far. _'He really meant it. They actually respected us, and he knew so much…Is there more to him than just the airheaded baka he seems to be?' _she thought to herself. She looked at him again, trying to find some sign of someone other than the smiling, cheerful boy before her.

Soujiro caught her staring at him, a look of intense concentration on her face. _'What could she be looking at me like that for?'_ he asked himself. He looked down, to see if maybe his clothing was improperly put on, since he had been in a slight rush in the morning, having helped Itori with his household chores the previous night, collapsing onto his futon and promptly passing out. Seeing that everything was in order, with the exception of the katana he had left in his temporary room, seeing no need to wear it at his side while watching over Misao, he stared back at her, his mind buzzing with confusion, but his face only showing the same cheerful grin he had worn for nearly fifteen years.

As she ate her soup and tried to examine the Tenken, Misao found herself surprised by the fact that she was not afraid of him as she had been in the forest. It confused her to no end that she could be mere feet away from one of the strongest fighters in all of Japan, the only one to ever defeat Himura in a contest of speed, and yet not fear him killing her. It may have been the old man's story, but something between the time she had collapsed in the forest and when she had just recently woken up had changed her reaction to the smiling killer. But, while she no longer feared him, she still clearly did not trust him in the least. No amount of stories explaining that he was no longer the uncaring killer she had seen break Himura's first sakabatou, would simply erase her inherent mistrust of him. No matter what Itori said, he was still the Tenken. She cleared her head of these thoughts as she finished her second bowl of soup. "Are you still hungry? There is plenty more," Soujiro said, smiling at her brightly. She shook her head. "Where are my things?" she asked. One of the first things she had noticed was that she was dressed in a simple kimono, instead of her ninja garb.

"Hihachi-sama instructed me to wash them and leave them out to dry. He then had me place them in another room, until you are well enough to walk around and be active, that way you can dress comfortably when you leave." As soon as he said "when you leave", she felt a tinge of fear enter her mind. Was he planning on killing the old man after all, and only waiting until she was gone so that there would be no witness? Or was he planning on continuing on to Tokyo, to kill Himura? "What do you mean when you say when I leave?" she asked cautiously. Probing him too much would most likely provoke him into killing her. "I assumed that you had a destination in mind, and would prefer to resume your journey there as soon as you are well. I am heading to Tokyo, like I said, for a long overdue meeting with Himura-san."

Once again, fear blossomed full-force within her. _'He still means to kill Himura! Who knows what kind of training he did on his journey! He was strong enough to kill him the second time they fought, from what Sanosuke said, and it was only Himura's ability to understand the Tenken's mind that saved him in the end. This time, he seems in full control of himself, and the same confusion that arose in the last match would definitely not affect him this time. He seems much more focused than before, even if he is still an airheaded baka, he is a dangerous one! I have to go with him, to try and warn Himura!'_ "Umm…would it be alright if I went with you? I didn't really have a destination in mind since I…left Kyoto. I think seeing Himura and the others would be very nice, and it would give you company along the road…." He blinked for a moment, confused. He seemed to hesitate, thinking his answer over. For a moment, her hopes of saving Himura were crushed, as he shook his head. Then, he stopped, looking up at her, those blue eyes shining with merriment. "That would be very welcome. It does get lonely, wandering by yourself for years. I would be honored if you were to accompany me, and I am sure that Himura-san and the others would be very happy to see you," he finished, beaming at her. For a moment, she was tempted to smile back, before remembering who she was talking to, and what he intended. "Arigatou," she said simply.

At that moment, Itori walked into the room. "Ah, Miss Misao, I am glad to see you are awake. Seta-san, I have some rather unfortunate news. Someone who once lived in Kyoto and served under your former master, recently moved to this village, and saw you enter with Miss Misao. He recently became very drunk at an inn, and told all who were there of your past exploits as one of the Juppongatana. I am sure that at least a few of the villagers have sent word to the nearest town, to summon the police to apprehend you. It is unfortunate, but you must leave, and take Miss Misao with you, as she has been labeled as your accomplice. I am most sorry for this, as I know that she has not yet fully recovered." Soujiro nodded, leaving the room to grab his sword and her ninja garb.

"Miss Misao," Itori said, as soon as Soujiro had left the room, "I know you do not trust him, and may even fear him due to your past encounter with him, and his history. But, I believe that there is nobody better suited to look after you right now. He is strong, and skilled, and he will protect you. I overheard you say that you were going to journey to Tokyo with him as I came into the house. This is good. While he has reformed himself, I believe he still has little knowledge of the real world, something you have vast experience with, I can tell. You can help him with that. All I ask of you is that you give it your best effort." She didn't have the heart to tell the old man what the Tenken was most likely planning, or to refuse him, after the kindness he had shown her. Instead, she simply nodded in response, as Soujiro re-entered the room, the katana once more at his side. In his hands, he held something familiar and dear to her- her ninja garb. She quickly grabbed it, moving stiffly out of the room as Soujiro pointed to the one he had slept in, so that she could change in privacy. In only a minute, she came back out. "Let's go," she said, determination in her voice, even in her weakened state.

They walked to the front of the house, Itori handing Soujiro a bag. "There's enough food in this to last you a week. After that, you'll have to fend for yourselves, or hopefully have reached a safe town or village by then. I wish you both the best in your journey to Tokyo, and if you ever are in this area again, please, do not hesitate to visit. My door is always open to you." They bowed, thanking him as quickly as they could. With a promise to return and visit the kindly old man, they started down the path to the village. They had only gone a yard or so when Soujiro stopped. "Misao-chan, I have an idea that will help us elude the police much more effectively and quickly, if you agree to it." She looked at him, curious. "What is it?"

He handed her the bag wordlessly, before crouching down. "Get on my back. If I run, we can be out of this village before anyone has time to realize we are leaving, and it will give us the added bonus of not giving them a definite idea of where to look to follow us." Though he said it with his ever-present smile, and a cheery tone, she saw the wisdom in his plan that must have come from his wandering years, spent eluding the police and the military. She nodded quietly, trying not to think of the fact that she was placing all of her trust in the Tenken, a person who wanted to kill some of her closest friends in the world. Bracing herself, she carefully climbed onto his back, his hands locking on her forearms. She instinctively clamped her legs around his waist and felt him shift to accommodate the new position. He tapped his feet twice, and she could have sworn she felt his powerful leg muscles bunch in preparation, before they took off.

Misao had done some incredible, if foolish, things in her life. She had jumped off of high buildings, challenged one of the strongest fighters in Japan to a fight, tried to jump a chasm she would have died in without Himura's help, and had jumped up and climbed buildings that would have killed her if she had fallen. But none of them could compare to this! She had blinked at the same moment he had stepped down onto his right foot, and then they were _gone._ The world around her was a blur at best, things shooting past her at blinding speeds. _'This is how fast he can move? It's insane! I've seen Himura move, and this is far beyond it…'_ she thought, while holding on to him even more tightly out of instinct. This was beyond what Sanosuke had described, words just couldn't convey it! She did her best to hold back a yell of terror as they barreled on.

For his part, Soujiro found himself distracted while running at near full-step shukuchi for the second time in his life. When Misao-chan had shifted her grip and pulled herself closer to him, it had shocked him, not because she had done it, but because he had _liked _it. For a moment, he tried to understand why this was, since he had carried Yumi-chan before in this fashion, when Shishio-sama had been away and she needed to get to him as quickly as possible. Quickly shoving the thought aside for later, he focused on running. If he let his attention waiver too much, he would take a wrong step, and be killed. This did not bother him, since he felt little fear, especially of death. Instead, for some reason, he did not want Misao-chan to die.

Only an hour had passed at most when Soujiro finally stopped. By Misao's reckoning, they had traveled several miles, completely leaving Itori's village behind. They stood in a slightly shaded patch of forest, along a mostly abandoned trail that had clearly begun to give way to the undergrowth of the forest. The Tenken sat her down, and she sat, her legs and arms having cramped from holding on to him so tightly. She watched as he quickly patrolled around the area. He came back after a few minutes, seemingly satisfied. "It will be near dark soon, Misao-chan. I will start a fire, as soon as I can find some wood…" he said, looking around. There were no fallen branches in sight. Sighing, Soujiro drew his sword, looking up at a tree across from them, then one behind him. He took off in what he would call a light sprint, while she would rate it to be akin with Himura's speed.

Using his momentum, he ran right up the trunk of the tree, kicking off of it. He flew across the distance between the two trees, his sword flashing once in the sunlight as he landed against the trunk of the other tree. As the branch he had cut off fell, he quickly looked at it, springing off the tree to intercept it. Two flashes of light were accompanied by him landing against the first tree again, before he flew into the other one, his sword once more flashing several times. This time, he landed on the ground, as the former branch, now almost a dozen pieces of firewood, landed softly on the forest floor. As he gathered them up, Misao started at him in wonder. _'Wow, he really IS as good as they said, no, better!' _Misao had grown up around swords and ninja, and had seen some of what Himura could do, and the Tenken had just done something easily on par with it as if it were a casual chore. "How good is he, really?" she asked herself, not realizing that she had said it out loud. "Did you say something, Misao-chan?" Soujiro asked, not having really heard her. "No," she said, shaking her head as he came over, pulling a flint from the bag Itori had given them. After a few moments, he had a decent-sized fire going, big enough to cook and warm them, but not enough to give them away. He pulled a pair of fish out of the bag and spit them onto two branches, holding them over the fire. At the same time, he filled a bowl with rice and a little water from a gourd he had found in the bag. With the rice simmering, and the fish cooking, they sat in a slightly awkward silence.

The fish done cooking, Soujiro added it to the rice, mixing it in. Misao tentatively took a mouthful, unsure of what to expect of the Tenken's cooking, seeing as he had been a killer, even though she knew that Himura was a skilled cook. As soon as she put it in her mouth, her eyes widened. "Where did you learn to cook??" she asked, shocked. "Anji-san taught me some of it for long missions when Shisio-sama needed me to travel far distances over a few days. The rest I learned from people I met during my wanderings. Why? Is it unsatisfactory? I apologize for that…" he said, voice trailing off. Misao quickly shook her head. "No! I'm just amazed, a lot of the warriors I knew were _terrible_ cooks, only you and Himura have been good at it, besides the guys at the Akabeko…" her voice trailed off sadly. Soujiro, noticing it, but also noting that she had the face he had come to recognize, the one that said a person wasn't ready to talk about something, decided to pick up the conversation in a lighter way. He rubbed the back of his head shyly with his hand. "Well, I don't know if I'm really _that _good, but thank you for the compliment, Misao-chan." Misao smiled for some reason, feeling a little bit of warmth in her cheeks. Looking up, she realized the sun had set. Seeing her reaction to the sun, Soujiro looked up. "Oh my, it seems that it is quite late. You should get some sleep after today's travels. I'll stay up for a little longer to keep watch." Suddenly tired, she nodded, too sleepy to think of protesting. The last thing she saw as she fell asleep was the Tenken, sword propped against his shoulder, looking away from the fire.

When she woke, the first thing she noticed was that she was alone. _'Damn him, he left me behind while I was sleeping!' _she thought furiously. Then, she noticed the bag of supplies next to the banked fire. "Maybe he didn't…?" she said aloud. It was then that she heard the sound of twigs snapping to her left. She got up stiffly and walked as quickly and quietly as she could towards the area the sound came from.

In a clearing stood the Tenken, sword at his side. With a kick of his powerful legs, he launched a dozen cut logs into the air. Tapping his foot, he disappeared save for the indents his feet made in the ground and on the tree trunk he ran up. Appearing for a moment, she saw him crouched, ready to draw his sword. An instant later, he blurred out of existence again, the only visible signs of his presence being the storm-like winds that trailed behind him, the indents in wood and ground, and the brief flashes of blue she sometimes caught. Then, as suddenly as he had started to move, he was standing still, sword sheathed. The dozen logs fell to the ground, each one cut six times cleanly. She let out a shocked gasp at the level of speed and skill he had revealed. His head snapped towards her, locking on her for a moment, the smile never fading. "I'm sorry Misao-chan, did I wake you?" he asked. She shook her head. "That was…incredible!" she exclaimed. He smiled a little more. "Thank you, but it was nothing, really, just a light exercise I use to keep in shape." _'If that's a light exercise, what does he consider serious??'_ she thought. "Anyway, we should begin moving again. I believe that there is a town not far from here that we can spend the night in." he said. She nodded mutely and followed him as he hid all signs of the fire and picked up the bag, walking back out onto the path.

After about three hours' walk, they began to see the signs of a town- a path leading up a hill that overlooked people gathering rice on one side, and walled on the other lay not far off. She looked at the Tenken, who had stopped suddenly. She could almost feel the air around him drop in temperature, and even though his smile never left his face, she could almost feel as if there was a bitter edge behind it suddenly. "Is something wrong?" she asked. He shook his head. "No."

**A/N: Some nice sword action, and something is bothering our dear Sou-chan… I wonder what it could be? A cookie to anyone who knows. And as a side-note to Exodya, my nickname is Seth. **


End file.
